Test teams use 737 MAX to put their stamp on the sky

Boeing Test & Evaluation teams got creative during a recent 737 MAX flight test, taking a route that drew “MAX” in the skies over Washington, Idaho and Montana. The letters are viewable using a flight-tracking website such as FlightAware.

The effort was part of a flight test to check the range and efficiency of the 737 MAX, and the letters are viewable using a flight-tracking website.

Flight Test engineer Andreas Weisweaver said it took coordination among the test team, flight dispatch, test pilots and air traffic control to plot the 37 waypoints — longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates — that would allow the team to spell “MAX” in the sky.

“Demonstrating the airplane’s extended endurance capabilities requires a long flight, so we thought we’d make it interesting,” Weisweaver said.